Total Wireless Review—Affordable Plans for the Whole Family
Written by
Nick GalovUpdated · Mar 31, 2022
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- No contracts
- Extensive coverage
- Affordable family plans
- Unlimited minutes on all plans
- Limited data supply
- Expensive individual plans
- Slow speeds during congestion
Total Wireless is a relatively new player in the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market. It is currently owned by TracFone, an MVNO using Verizon’s network.
Total Wireless keeps its customers connected to this popular network at a far cheaper rate—at least with its family plans. The individual packages are another story.
See what we learned about the service while testing it in our in-depth Total Wireless review below.
What Is Total Wireless?
Total Wireless is a contract-free MVNO with cheap monthly family plans. Even new customers can set it up quickly and easily.
It offers some of the cheapest cell phones and best plans. Plus, it comes with unlimited minutes and texts and allows you to change your plan anytime.
Total Wireless Plans & Prices
You can choose between a single line or a shared family plan depending on your needs.
Total Wireless doesn’t have a trial version, but you can get a free month’s subscription by referring your friends and family.
Pricing Plans
For just $35 per month, the Total Wireless 5G data plan includes unlimited talk, texts, and data. After you exceed the 5GB data limit, you get switched from 5G to 2G. If you run low on data early on, however, you can top up with another 5GB for just $10. That’s possibly the best package for individual use. Let’s take a look at the other options.
We already reviewed the 5GB plan Total Wireless offers. The other two individual options are the 1GB plan for $25 per month and the 25GB plan for $50 per month. They include the same perks as the previous package—unlimited texts, talk, and data without a contract. The only difference is the amount of 5G data you get (1GB and 25GB, respectively).
The Shared Family plans receive a lot of praise in Total Wireless reviews—and for a good reason. With them, you get unlimited nationwide talk, texts, and data. The two lines plan costs $60 a month and includes 30GB of shared 5G data. The three lines plan doubles that, offering 60GB for $85 per month. Finally, there is the expansive four lines plan, providing 100GB of shared 5G data for $100 per month. All three Shared Family plans lower your speeds to 2G after you finish the included high-speed data.
Total Wireless Network
As we mentioned above in the review, Total Wireless uses Verizon’s network. As such, it has incredible coverage with full 5G, 4G, and 2G support.
The only downside to using an MVNO is that you could be the victim of what is known as “data deprioritization.” This means that the network provider could slow down your speeds during peak hours to prioritize its other customers.
Although we didn’t experience this issue, we found a few user reviews complaining about the Total Wireless coverage.
Total Wireless Special Features
In addition to having affordable family deals, Total Wireless is known for offering discounts and promotions.
Double Data
Apart from the standard Black Friday and Christmas deals, Total Wireless throws in the occasional promotion.
Keep a lookout during the year for the frequent Double Data promos.
Note that this promo Total Wireless pricing is usually available only with the $35 or $50 monthly plans.
The Rewards Program
Total Wireless offers the Rewards Program, where customers can earn points for completing certain activities.
You can complete polls, play games, and refer friends to earn points. Then, you can exchange them for high-speed data and complimentary service plans.
Besides, earning points is easier than you might think. Even joining Total Wireless brings you points.
With each plan renewal, you earn even more.
What We Disliked
As you might have gathered, the Total Wireless plans for individual users don’t offer the best value for money.
Although they come with unlimited minutes and texts, 1GB-5GB is barely enough to get most people through the month. We also mentioned the pesky threat of data deprioritization in our 2022 Total Wireless review.
What’s more, the Total Wireless app and website are both quite poorly designed and hard-to-navigate.
Lastly, customer service can be slow to answer, as we established when testing the live chat service.
Total Wireless Review User Reviews
Our experience with Total Wireless was mixed in some aspects. To see how others have fared with it, we searched for Total Wireless reviews by users.
The first site we checked was Trustpilot. Unfortunately, Total Wireless has only two stars based on 26 reviews.
Users complained about the unhelpful Total Wireless customer service, unreliable service and data usage, and badly designed website and app.
That said, Redditors’ opinions partly redeem this. We found several Total Wireless reviews on Reddit from users in smaller cities who enjoyed their experience with the service.
Those that lived in more populated areas, however, complained about being at the mercy of Verizon’s towers. Data deprioritization was a concern in more than one Total Wireless review on Reddit.
Is Total Wireless Worth It?
If you’re looking for a family package, Total Wireless is the perfect solution. It offers enough data for everyone at an affordable rate.
That said, if you are looking for an affordable plan with a lot of data just for yourself, you might want to consider another prepaid phone service.
All in all, Total Wireless allows you to enjoy Verizon’s large network coverage at a reasonable cost, so long as you don’t mind the occasional slow speeds.
Even that depends largely on your location, as several users point out in their Total Wireless reviews. If you live in a smaller city, you won’t face that issue.
Alternatives to Total Wireless
In this section of our Total Wireless review, we compare the carrier to some of its most notable alternatives.
Total Wireless vs Straight Talk
One of the biggest advantages of Total Wireless over Straight Talk is the shared family plan. If you need multiple lines, Total Wireless is the better choice. In fact, it’s the only option of those two, as Straight Talk doesn’t have any shared plans.
That said, Straight Talk has unlimited data packages. In terms of individual plans, it has the edge over Total Wireless.
Total Wireless vs Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile provides very cheap plans. It offers 3/6/12 months contracts with 4GB/10GB/15GB of data, respectively.
However, if you want dependable coverage without committing to a long-term plan, Total Wireless is for you.
Total Wireless vs Tracfone
Tracfone is an excellent choice for single and light users with a wide variety of plans. Total Wireless, on the other hand, offers better shared plans.
Plus, unlike Tracfone, Total Wireless includes unlimited minutes and texts in every package.
Wrap Up
Total Wireless has some very strong features. Most notably, it uses the US’s most established network, Verizon, and offers generous family plans.
Its main weaknesses are its single user plans’ data limits and its spotty speeds. Still, Total Wireless is constantly improving, making it a good carrier to stick with for the future.
Total Wireless’s network is provided by Verizon, which is one of the most reliable wireless network operators in the US.
All Total Wireless plans come with infinite minutes and texts. Best of all, you don’t have to commit to a long-term contract. You can pick a different package every month.
Total Wireless doesn’t provide unlimited data per se. After you exceed the limit in your package, your speeds will be lowered to 2G.
Speaking of speeds, you might also suffer data deprioritization during Verizon’s peak hours
While you cannot try Total Wireless for free, you can win free service plans via the Total Wireless Rewards system. All you have to do is refer a few of your friends.
Total Wireless is an MVNO using the Verizon network. This is the most widespread network in the US, meaning that Total Wireless users will enjoy national coverage.
We discuss Total Wireless’s network quality in more detail above in our Total Wireless review.
Unaware that life beyond the internet exists, Nick is poking servers and control panels, playing with WordPress add-ons, and helping people get the hosting that suits them.